Zagreb - In February the Parliament adopted government’s draft state budget for this year, along with the budget projections for 2013 and 2014. The planned expenditures amounting to 118.8 billion kuna are by 3.4 billion smaller than last year’s while the planned revenues amount to 108.9 billion kuna, i.e. they are by 1.4 percent higher than in 2011. The deficit is forecast to be at 2.8 percent of GDP. The budget was passed with 82 votes in favour, 41 against and one abstention.

Invited by his counterparts, Speaker Boris Šprem was present at the plenary sessions of the Bulgarian and Italian parliaments at the time of the debate and voting on the Croatian Accession Treaty. In his turn, he hosted the Estonian Parliament Speaker Ene Ergma, who announced their intention to ratify the Treaty in March or April.

During February Šprem continued receiving ambassadors to Croatia: Serbian Ambassador Stanimir Vukićević, Israeli Ambassador Yosef Amrani, Hungarian Ambassador Gábor Iván, Swiss Ambassador Denis Knobel, Polish Ambassador Wieslaw Tarka, French Ambassador Jérôme Pasquier, Russian Ambassador Robert Makaryan, Danish Ambassador Bo Eric Weber, Korean Ambassador Seong Ung Park, Iranian Ambassador Mohsen Sharif Khodaei, Algerian Ambassador Farida Aïouaze and Macedonian Ambassador Dančo Markovski.

Šprem also took part in the round table conference “Referendum Held – What Next?” organized in Sabor by GONG, a non-partisan NGO intended to encourage citizens’ active participation in political processes. Conference participants debated on the steps to be taken before Croatia’s actual accession to the European Union in July 2013.

OSCE PA Vice-President and Member of the Croatian Parliament Tonino Picula was nominated to lead the OSCE observation mission to Russian presidential elections on 4 March 2012.

Deputy Speaker Josip Leko received France’s Ambassador to Croatia Jérôme Pasquier and the Hungarian Ambassador Gábor Iván, while Deputy Speaker Milorad Batinić travelled to Belgrade and took part in the international congress organized by the National Alliance for Local Economic Development on regional business environment named “South East Europe – business friendly region”.

Milorad Pupovac, Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee, met the Estonian Parliament Speaker Ene Ergma. He held meetings with the Italian Ambassador Emanuela D'Alessandro, Greek Ambassador Ourania Arvaniti, Finnish Ambassador Juhu Ottman, Slovenian Ambassador Vojko Volka, Israeli Ambassador Yosef Amrani, Russian Ambassador Robert Makaryan, Czech Ambassador Karel Kühnl, Serbian Ambassador Stanimir Vukićević, Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksander Levčenko and French Ambassador Jérôme Pasquier.

Daniel Mondekar, Chairman of the European Integrations Committee, received the Estonian Parliament Speaker Ene Ergma and Finland, Italy, the Czech Republic, France and Hungary's ambassadors to Croatia. He also met with Director General for Enlargement Mr. Stefan Sannin.

Tonino Picula met the Israeli Ambassador, Vladimir Bilek, Czech and Slovak Minority MP, received the Czech Ambassador, Gordan Jandroković received the Dutch Ambassador and Andrej Plenković Norway's Ambassador to Croatia.

Srđan Gjurković, Chairman of the Finance and Central Budget Committee and Igor Rađenović, Chairman of the Committee on the Economy, held a meeting with the Delegation of the International Monetary Fund.

Deputy Chairwoman of the Committee on Human and National Minority Rights Ruža Tomašić and Members of the Committee Ivanka Roksandić and Sonja König met with Jean Charles Gardetto – Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Rapporteur of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination.

Seven parliamentary delegations to international organizations were formed in February: Executive Committee of the National Group to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the NATO, Delegation to the Parliamentary Committee for stabilization and accession (Croatia-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee), Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Delegation to the Central European Initiative Parliamentary Dimension and Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE.